


and your eyes look like coming home

by Ephemeral_Joy



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Childhood Friends, Comfort, Coming of Age, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Growing Up, throughout the years
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22101301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ephemeral_Joy/pseuds/Ephemeral_Joy
Summary: In which five year old Ricky and Nini meet in a sandbox and the rest is history.(or: rickini throughout the years)
Relationships: Ricky Bowen & Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 40
Kudos: 216





	and your eyes look like coming home

**Author's Note:**

> i caved so here we are  
> i researched way too much about skateboarding and i didn't like it so you're welcome  
> rickini/rini owns my ass H A R D and i'm unapologetic about it. i've gotten like 5 people to watch it too. 
> 
> you can talk to me all about hsmtmts on tumblr! https://lydias--stiles.tumblr.com/
> 
> edited|not beta'd|title from "everything has changed" by miss taylor swift because how can i not

**kindergarten**

A boy was throwing sand on her sand cake. One second she was peacefully making desserts for her moms on the bench nearby and suddenly: boom! A boy with the biggest pile of curls she has ever seen throwing sand at her and her masterpieces! 

'Hey!' She pointed her tiny hand at him. 'Stop throwing!' 

The boy whipped his head to her, eyes big with innocence and surprise. 'I wasn't! I'm making a tunnel, see?' 

It calmed her down a little. At least he didn't do it on purpose. 'Just don't throw it on me.' 

He nodded aggressively, this time carefully removing sand from his hole. She stared at it with intrigue. 

'How long is it?' 

The boy smiled. 'A little more and I'm at the other side of the world. My mom told me I could touch Australia.'

'Really?!' Nina's face brightened with excitement. Australia sounded like a fairy tale island! 

'Yeah, look,' he nodded at her to come closer, which she did, crouching next to him. Her desserts were momentarily forgotten. 'That yellow stuff is gold! And that hard stuff at the bottom is the ground of Australia.'

Nini clapped her hands with glee. How come her moms never told her this?

'Mommies! We found gold!' She yelled, of which one came with a fond smile on her face. 

'Really? Can I see, Nina?' The boy looked at her, mouthing her name with a pensive look on his face. 'Oh, wow! Better not tell the others or they'll steal it!' 

Nina nodded, grave. Maybe she should bottle it, or hide it in her empty juice box. Or put it in the little trunk she got from Lola, along with her magical seashells! 

Mom continued. 'Did your friend find it?' 

The boy looked proud. 'Yeah! I'm Richard!' Nina involuntarily crunched up her nose. What kind of name was _Richard_? 

'Have you introduced yourself?', Mom asked, in that tone Nina knew it wasn't a suggestion. 

'I'm Nina,' she said, placing a hand on her chest. Her mom left them. 

'Nin…,' Richard drawled, lips contacted at the last letter. 

'Ni-na.'

'Ni… can I say Nini?' 

She raised her eyebrows. 'Nini?' But then: 'Yes! I've never had a nickname before! And I'll call you…,' she tapped her chin. It would be so cool, like having spy names! 'Ricky!' 

Ricky beamed. 'Wanna be friends, Nini?' 

She shrugged. 'Sure. Do you want to eat my chocolate cake?' She jutted her thumb at the desserts. 'I've made them myself.' 

Nini and Ricky ended up staying at the park longer than their parents intended, and it resulted in Ricky's mom and Nini's moms swapping phone numbers to arrange a playdate in the future. It turned out they went to the same kindergarten, so it wouldn't be a problem. 

Slowly, Nini's moms began to call her by her nickname too, and the same happened for Ricky, since Richard is quite formal. 

'Mom! Can Ricky come and play!?' Nini yelled as she ran down the stairs, watching the blond ponytail bob up and down. 

'Sure. I'll call Lynne.'

'We're going to marry today,' Nini informed in a matter-of-fact tone. Her mom hardly reacted. 

'And how will that go?' 

'In my playhouse.'

'Are we invited?' 

Nini shook her head, teasing flint in her eye. 'Nope! But Ellie the Elephant and Bruno the Bear are!' 

Mom gasped, to which Nini giggled. 

'Does Ricky know you're getting married?' 

'He likes funny things, so he's gonna find this funny too.' She stared pointedly at the landline. 'Are you going to call his mom?' 

She quirked a brow and Nini quickly corrected herself. 'Please?' 

Mom nodded and pointed at the stairs. 'Why don't you put on some play clothes while I call Lynne?' Nini obliged, excitedly sprinting to her room. 

'Hey Ricky!' She yelled as he entered the back garden through the kitchen. He beamed at her. 

'Hey Nini!' 

'Look! I made us a church to get married in.' 

He scrunched up his nose. 'Married?' 

'Yeah, I thought it'd be funny. I even made pies.' She pointed at the sand cakes in the windowsill of her playhouse. 

'Okay,' he shrugged. 'What do we do?' 

Nini dragged him to the door of her playhouse, which now represented the arch people got married under. On the chairs inside, a few stuffed animals stared back at them. For the occasion, she placed a sparkly purple fedora on Bruno. It was perfect. 

'We hold hands and put rings on our fingers and we kiss and then we dance. That's what was in my moms' wedding anyway,' she muttered the latter, trying to remember if she saw that wedding video correctly. 

'Kiss?', he squeaked, sticking out his tongue with disgust. 

'Yeah. That's what you do when you like someone. My parents like each other and they kiss. I like you, so we could kiss too.'

Ricky cocked his head. 'I've never seen my parents kiss.'

Nini shrugged. 'Maybe they do it when you sleep. I don't know.' Embarrassment creeped at the edges of her mind as she recognise his glum expression. Maybe she was wrong and what her moms did was weird? 

'Let's do it!' Ricky suddenly quipped. 

'Look!' Nini pointed at the rings on one of the chairs. 'I made rings from the stems of flowers.'

Then, she put on the serious face her moms made when they gave her a "teaching lesson" and grabbed his hands. 

'Ricky Bowen, will you marry me, Nini Salazar-Roberts, forever and ever and never let me go?' 

'I will,' he grinned, a missing tooth now on full display. 

'Now you say it.'

'Oh! Uh… Nini, will you marry me, Ricky Bowen, forever and ever and never let me go?' 

'I will!', she squeaked, and then picked up the rings and slipped them on their fingers. 

'And now we kiss.'

Ricky wasn't quite sure what to do, so he just stood still, wide-eyed, as Nini's face inched forward and her two eyes became one and suddenly he felt her lips touch his. Feather-light. He blushed. 

Nini clapped her hands. 'We're married!' She pressed play on her small, pink radio and turned up the volume. 'My moms bought me the High School Musical CD!' 

Ricky couldn't help but laugh at her crazy dance moves and joined her, flapping his arms up and down and jumping around. If this was married life with Nini, he wouldn't mind it at all.

**fifth grade**

'Nini!' Ricky yelled from the front lawn. She, making her math exercises (ew), at the kitchen table, sprung up. Her moms wouldn't mind her taking a break, now would they? 

She opened the front door, only to see a skateboard covering Ricky's face with a few curls peeking out. His hair has grown to a ridiculous length, the ends nearly grazing his shoulders. 

'Wow!', she said, admiring the cartoonish design. It was purple with green blobs and an alien spaceship whizzing around. 

'My dad got me a skateboard for my birthday!' 

Ricky, Terrence (a new addition to their friend group since this year), a few other boys and her celebrated his birthday yesterday. But 5oday was his official birthday and he had been begging for a skateboard for months. She wanted to but it for him, but it was super expensive. Nini didn't even know things could be so pricy! Instead, she had opted for a Star Wars Lego set. 

(He loved it and gave her a big hug.)

'Can you ride it?' 

'Yeah, I learned a few things from Teddy at the skate park.' Before Ricky had a skateboard, his dad brought him to the skate park from time to time and an older boy (named Teddy, although Nini presumed that wasn't his real name) had taken him under his wing. Apparently Ricky had talent. Nini was super happy for him he finally got to do his hobby fully! Just like he went to her recitals, despite not really enjoying them. 

'Lemme see!'

And so she sat on the curb watching him skate around, falling a lot and trying (yet failing) to do jumps. 

'Can I try?', she said eventually, a little shy. It was his gift and she didn't want to break it or something. 

'Sure!', he breathed heavily, stepping off the board with ease and rolling it to her. 'Step on.'

Nini bit her lip, analysing the situation. She wasn't amazing at sports, rather in the arts as she found out two years ago. She sometimes sang at church and she had two hours of drama every week at the community centre. She loved it a lot. But skating… 

No, she couldn't be scared! 

'Can you help me?', she asked, holding out her hands. He smiled, nodded and held her hands tightly as she jumped on the board, legs shaky. She let out a nervous giggle. 

'Now what?' 

Without a word, he began pulling her forward as he still held her. She began to squeal, incredibly nervous to fall and incredibly excited to be _skateboarding_! She, Nini Salazar-Roberts, was skateboarding! Maybe she should ask for one as well and skate with Ricky at the skate park and-

'Okay, I'm letting go!', Ricky exclaimed, letting his arm fall to his sides. 

'What?! No, no, no!' Frozen by fear, her body went blank as it didn't know what to do at all and lost balance. 

'Ricky!', she yelled. 

Just as she began to fall, Ricky was clutching her body, with her feet smacking on the pavement. The skateboard rolled away. 

'I'm so sorry, Nini! Are you okay?' His eyes were wide with regret, uncaring of his gift getting farther away. Only when she found her footing again did he let go of her. 

She trembled. 'I'm fine. I'll get your board!' As she ran after it, for the first time, she felt a shift between them. She realised that Ricky was a boy and liked more boyish things and was better at them than her; and she was a girl, liking girly things like musicals and clothes and dance. Would he not want to be her friend anymore because he wanted to only be around boys? That understood his interests better? Nini pouted and grabbed the board. 

But because they always talked about everything (like how people sometimes said rude things to her parents and how his fought) she asked him just that: 'Do you still want to be my friend even though I can't skateboard?' 

To which Ricky laughed his adorable laugh, with dimples and crinkled eyes, and exclaimed: 'Of course! You're my best friend, Nini. You can always watch me skate, like I watch you sing.'

Nini nodded, relieved that her friendship with Ricky remained safe. So many boys fought on the schoolyard and girls always gossiped about one another and broke friendships all the time. It was easy with Ricky. They just… understood one another.

'Deal,' she said, and shook his hand to officiate it. 'My mom made biko, wanna have some?' 

*

When Nini turned ten, she was gifted the "High School Musical 3" movie, a bright pink ukulele and piano lessons. 

Ricky was the first to hear her self-written song, accompanied by the ukulele. It was about their friendship and he had a red face the entire time. When she asked him what he thought of it, he had mumbled something about thinking it was good and then moving in to a different subject. It hurt a little, seeing him so disinterested, but maybe he just had a bad day. 

Eventually, she asked her parents for a small notebook to have all her songs in one place instead of a messy binders with lose papers. It was pink, and on the first page was written: "Nini Salazar-Roberts Songwriting Book" and then: "CAUTION: DO NOT READ WITHOUT PERMISSION!!!" 

She performed one of her songs at the school's talent show, and Ricky was on the first row cheering the loudest after she finished. 

(It was the first time she felt an odd twinge in her heart, but later chalked it up to the adrenaline of performing.)

(It was that night she decided to be a musical star too.)

*

'Ricky likes Nini, Ricky likes Nini, Ricky likes Nini!' The girls sung in a huddle, mocking yet also excited. A boy having a crush on a girl was the funniest thing ever! Nini groaned, aggravated and crossed her arms. 

'It's not true!' 

'Why else are you friends?', Mila quipped. Noor wiggled her eyebrows, as if she cracked the code. 

'Because we are!', Nini exclaimed. She honestly didn't know why, but did anyone? You became friends with someone because it just… worked. They found the same things fun and watched the same movies and played the same games. And they could talk about anything! Just last night they skyped on the house computer about how they both hated asparagus! 

'If a boy is friends with a girl it's because he likes her!' Caroline exclaimed, as if reading it from an encyclopedia.

'No, it's when he's teasing her. Like pulling her hair or something and Ricky doesn't do that,' Nini retorted, smug. She knew him better than any of these girls! If Ricky _liked_ liked her, she'd know. (Right? Right.)

'Ricky and Nini sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G!', Noor sang, jolting the other girls into an unstoppable laughter. Nini, angry and red, stomped away from the girls table on the schoolyard and went to the monkey bars. Ricky and Terrence were hanging upside down, faces redder than hers and whispering in a secretive manner. Were they playing spies? Maybe she could join!

'Hey Ricky! Hi Terrence!' 

Ricky waves at her, but Terrence said: 'It's Big Red now!' 

Nini halted. 'What?' 

The boys pulled themselves up to sit on top of the monkey bars. Nini quickly joined them. She loved this spot, she could see the whole schoolyard and the mountains and the trees and everything! 

'My name. It's Big Red now,' Terrence smirked. Ricky bumped his fist and hummed in agreement. 

'I don't get it.'

'Teddy named me Big Red at the skate park. It's way cooler than my actual name so yeah. Big Red.'

Nini giggled. 'Okay… Big Red. Can I play with you guys? Spies, right?' 

Ricky blushed (why was he embarrassed? They always played spies or superheroes!) and Big Red frowned. 'No, we were talking about-' 

'Nothing!' Ricky squeaked. Nini grimaced. 

'Okay?' 

'Right,' Big Red drawled. 

Ricky jumped off the bars and did a cartwheel. 'Let's play spies!'

Nini, jealous of the cartwheel, went along anyway and began to linger in the bushes, spying on the older kids. 

**eighth grade**

'Happy Birthday, Ricky!' 

'Oh! I've always wanted Vans!' 

'Yeah, I just got you the black ones because it'll go with everything but… yeah, now you're a true skater!', Nini grinned. 

(Ricky wouldn't wear any other shoe brand after that. One, because Vans rule. Two, because… well, they reminded him of Nini.)

(But she didn't need to know that) 

*

It was the night before eighth grade when Ricky called her after curfew. She had just gotten a phone, second-hand, because she'd be biking to school. "Only for emergencies", her moms had said. Nini found that Rocky deserved a spot in her phone alongside her parents and lola too. 

'Ricky,' she whispered, begging her parents didn't hear the phone ring. It was quite distinctive, having it be Defying Gravity and all that. 'Why are you calling, it's nine PM. We have school tomorrow!' 

Then, she heard it: a sob. Dread filled her bones like cold water as she thought of every horrible situation that could have happened. 'Oh my God, Ricky, what happened?' 

'My parents…,' his voice was shaky, barely audible but enough for her after years of friendship. 'It's not good.'

'But-'

'It's really not good this time, Nini. My mom just left to sleep at a friend's house.'

She was silent for a moment. If she was older, her curfew would be later and she'd drive to his house and buy him his favourite candy to lift his spirits. Ugh, how she wished to be sixteen already! 

'What can I do?'

'Just,' he cried, 'just talk to me. About anything.'

A part of her wanted to say no. No, we have school tomorrow and I want to be fresh and make a good first impression and we can talk about it then. But another part, the part that cared deeply about him, said: screw it. If she needed too, she'd just sneakily put on her mom's concealer and no one would ask questions. 

'Okay,' she breathed, getting out of bed and sitting on her windowsill. 'I wrote a new song. It's about… me, I guess? Like, how I want to pursue my dreams and how I want my future to look like. I used the piano instead of my uke too! It's kind of a ballad now? I don't know, I like it. But I think you'll like it too. With you, you can imagine it's about Assassins Creed or skateboarding and how gold you wanna become at it. If it wasn't so late at night aid play it for you but if my parents heard me… _yeesh_ , i wouldn't hear the end of it! Speaking of my parents, they bought you this sweater from Macy's because they really thought you'd like it so I'll give it you tomorrow. It's just a striped hoodie. Ha, I remember when we were younger, we'd get matching t-shirts for Christmas. I still have that giraffe top! Do you?'

It was then, after a long pause, that Nini realised Ricky had fallen asleep, evident by the rhythmic, soft breathing that came through the receiver. She smiled, proud, pushing on the red button and settling back into her bed. Ricky was a light sleeper, any noise waking him up, so the fact that she got him to drift off… 

Nini closed her eyes, her own song stuck in her head as she pictured the skateboarding boy. 

*

'Smile!' 

The abrupt light flashed in front of her eyes and just as abrupt, she was pushed to the side for the next person. 

'Did I make a face?', Nini asked Kourtney, worried. 

'You looked fine. At least you didn't wake up with a volcano on your forehead,' Kourtney muttered, placing a finger on the offending zit. Nini met Kourtney in sixth grade and they instantly clicked. Kourtney wasn't teasing her for her friendship with Ricky, and Nini shared Kourtney's passion for fashion. It felt to have a real girl friend. She could talk to Kourtney about things that were a little too embarrassing with Ricky, like menstruation. And training bras. 

'Stop! You'll make it worse!'

'It already ruined my photo for the entire year, how worse can it get?' 

Nini shrugged. 'Your outfit is cute.'

Kourtney flashed a smile. 'Thanks.'

A few students later, it was Ricky's turn. For being emotionally wrecked, he looked pretty good, Nini thought. Maybe it was the haircut, finally trimmed to his ears and tamed with a brush. She fished the striped sweater from her pink backpack. 

'What's that?', Kourtney asked. 

'My moms bought Ricky a sweater for some reason.' She rolled her eyes. 'They're a little embarrassing sometimes.'

'Nah, they're cool.'

'Hey Nini, hi Kourtney.'

'Here,' Nini said as her way of greeting him. Ricky, confused, grabbed the sweater. 

'I told you my moms bought you a sweater? Last night?' 

He turned red, eyes flitting to an intrigued Kourtney. 'I must've, uh, fallen asleep.'

Right! She could be so ditzy sometimes. 'Oh, right, well…,' she made jazz hands, 'there it is. I don't know why they bought you this either. If you don't like it than I'll just-' 

'No, it's cool,' Ricky interrupted her, stuffing it in his already overflowing backpack. 'I like it.'

The bell rang. Unfortunately, they weren't in the same class. Luckily, Kourt and her were. 'Ice cream after school?', she proposed before she was being pushed by the stream of students. 

'Skate park _and_ ice cream?', he negotiated, glint in his eye. He felt like normal again. Nini grinned, giving him a thumbs up as the noise had gotten too loud. 

Kourtney muttered something. 

'What?' 

'Nothing. Let's go!'

After school, Nini and Ricky biked and skated to the skate park, a few miles from school. Now that she was nearing thirteen, she was allowed to go unsupervised. 

'I wanna show you a trick I learned over the summer! Oh, hey Parker!' 

Cool kid Teddy didn't live here anymore, having moved to New York to live with his girlfriend. Instead, he was replaced by Parker, New Resident Cool Kid. Nini _might_ have a teensy tiny crush on him, but that was only because his shaggy blonde hair made her think of Ross Lynch. She wasn't afraid to admit she had a couple of cute guys tacked on her wall. 

'Hey Ricky! What's good?' 

'Started eighth grade, pretty exciting I guess.'

It was then that Parker noticed her and she couldn't help but blush. If only he was a musical boy! 

'What's up, Nini. But dude, middle school fucking sucks. Kinda bummed I will already be gone when you get to high school. Whatever.' He randomly did a flip with his board, Nini noticing Ricky basically worshipped this guy, with the way he was staring. 'Wanna hang with me and my friends later? We're playing World Of Warcraft.'

Nini almost wanted to invite herself as well but halted right on time. This was Ricky's world, not hers. She locked eyes with him and saw hesitation. 

'Nah, I'm going to hang out with Nini.'

'Ricky, you can-' 

'No, we're going to get ice cream, right?' 

Nini couldn't help but smile, abashed. Sometimes Ricky could make her feel special in a way she couldn't describe and her entire body would become fuzzy and warm. 

Parker smirked suggestively. 'Good thing to place your girl first, Ricky. I respect that.' The two turned a deep red as Parker skated away, laughing. Ricky awakened first, skating after him, yelling: 'She's not my girlfriend, dude!' 

Nini didn't know how to feel about that statement. 

'Why do you always blush when you see Parker?', Ricky asked as they sat down on her front porch, ice cream in one hand. After skating for a bit and showing Nini all his cool tricks, they went for ice cream, as per tradition. Nini with raspberry sorbet and chocolate brownie, Ricky with cookie dough and lemon tart. 

Nini blushed at the mere mention of his name. 'What do you mean?' 

'You're literally red right now.' He scrunched his nose. 'You don't have a crush on him, right?'

'I do not!', Nini squeaked. It was super awkward discussing _crushes_ with Ricky. Especially since he knew her too well and saw right through her. 

'Ew!', he exclaimed, nearly spitting out a piece of ice cream. 'Nini, he's _sixteen_!' 

'I just think he's cute, okay?! I'm not like, in love with him or something.' She calmed down, trying to think of a mature resolution. 'It's the same with Tom Holland or… Guy Massoud. It's admiring from afar. I think I need to really know the boy for me to actually like him.'

He was quiet for a moment, letting her words sink in. He took a bite from the cookie dough. 

'I don't understand girls,' he eventually said. 

She grinned. 'You understand me.'

Ricky chuckled, shaking his head as he finished his dessert. 'That I do,' he mumbled. 'And good. It was driving me insane.' 

'What?' Her heart halted for a moment. What did he imply by that? 

'Now I don't need to worry you're gonna suck faces with him.' Ricky stuck his tongue out, making nasty noises. 

'Ew!', Nini yelled, standing up. 'You're disgusting!'

'Aw, come on, Nini!' 

But she was already laughing, happy the mood was light again. She sat back down. 

She held out her pinky finger. 'Let's promise that, whenever we get into a relationship in the future, we will still hang out.'

'Deal.' He didn't even have to think about it. 

Nini realised that it was time for him to go home, with the sky melting into purples and pinks, and had to get this last thing out too. Perhaps, the most important one. 'Also… about your parents… last night. Ricky, you can always talk to me. You know that right? I can be your, like, emergency contact for these things.'

Ricky's gaze softened, a smile tugging at his lips as he let the sentiment of her words set in. Without a word, he pulled her into a hug. She responded immediately, tightly holding on to his torso and proud of herself of acting so mature. 

But then he pulled back and she noticed how pretty his deep brown eyes were and it was all a little too much to handle and-

'Okay,' she stood up, flattening her pink dress. 'I'll see you tomorrow?' 

He smiled his usual smile, probably not feeling that strange spark she just felt, and said goodbye. As Nini watches him skate away, a fearful gasp left her lips. 

Oh god, she didn't _like_ like him, right? 

(After said revelation, she avoided him for an entire week as much as she could, which resulted in him being mad and not talking to her either. Kourtney kept prodding to know what happened, but said she had an inkling herself. The knowing smirk was too much for Nini. Eventually, the strange feelings were gone, apologised and blamed it on her girly hormones, to which he spouted a loud "Ew!" and forgave her.)

(They _were_ gone. Truly!) 

*

It was a regular, boring Tuesday when it all shifted at noon. 

'A teacher just discouraged me from taking STEM next year!', Kourtney raged, slamming her food tray on their regular table.

Nini, immediately at her side, grimaced. _'What_?'

'Yeah! Because I'll be one of the only girl and he doesn't want me to be intimidated. Me! Intimidated! _I_ intimidate the boys! Have you _seen_ Marcus run away from me?!' 

Nini snarled. 'Ugh! Boys suck! That's so… so… sexist!' 

'Yes! It's 2016, aren't we supposed to all be feminists by now?' Kourtney shrieked, getting riled with every syllable. 

For the first time since the conversation, Big Red spoke up. 'Donald Trump _did_ get voted president tho-' Ricky slammed a hand on his mouth. 

'Not helping,' he muttered. 

'Kourt,' Nini said, placing a hand on her shoulder. 'You should just do it. You're _amazing_ at all the science subjects. The only way to break the mould is from the inside out.'

From her peripheral vision, she saw Ricky smiling at her. 

Slowly, a grin formed on Kourtney's lips. 'You're right, Nini.' Then she turned to the boys, devilish smile on her face. 'Guess what boys, I'm going to break society.'

Nini perked up, alarmed. 'I didn't mean that.' 

'Nope. No take-backs. It's too late, Nini. I found my passion.'

Big Red, ever the confused one, said: 'I thought you had a passion for fashion?' 

Ricky couldn't take it anymore, letting his face fall on the table whilst laughing. Kourtney was about to unleash her wrath on the innocent Big Red when Nini rushed to stop her. 

'You can be more than one thing. You can mean more than one thing to someone or something.'

That calmed her down. 'Damn girl, when did you get so wise?'

'I think I've been spending too much time with my grandma,' Nini giggled. 

'She's so cool,' Ricky quipped. 

'Yeah.'

'Hey, are we going to that dance thing?', Big Red butted in, jabbing his thumb at a poorly made poster near the entrance of the cafeteria. 

As usual, Ricky was oblivious to after-school activities. The amount of times in the last two years she had to drag him out of his home for forgotten events… 'What?' 

'The end of middle school dance,' Big Red explained, taking a sip of his kombucha. 'Are we going?' 

'Don't we need dates for that?', Nini muttered. Would they seem like losers if they didn't? Like, all the movies made a big deal out of it so it must be important!

Kourtney scoffed. _'Remember_ , Nini: we're breaking society!' 

(Later that night, Kourtney would text her to say she specifically wants to break the "patriarchy", not society. Nini had to look up what it meant and agreed with her.)

'Right,' she laughed. 'We can go as a group.'

'Isn't it going to be kind of lame?', Ricky argued, 'Parker said even high school dances are boring.'

Big Red nodded. 'True.'

Nini's heart sank to her shoes. She didn't want to go to the dance without Ricky! 

'It'll be fun,' she pressed, ' _we_ can make it fun.'

It wasn't fun. Not only was Nini let down by the the fact that magical makeovers only existed in movies and that putting on mascara for the first time didn't transform her into the princess she was inside, she was also envious of the girls wearing dresses that made them look more… womanly. Nini knew she was a late bloomer, but it was never more evident as it was now. But the grass was always greener on the other side, she supposed, since Kourtney was complaining about the troubles of finding a new, good pair of jeans. 

And lastly, _no one_ was dancing. What's the freaking point of a dance if guys and girls were on opposite sides unable to look at each other? 

'Told you it was gonna be lame,' Ricky prompted, a fistful of candy in his hand. She stole one from his stash and sighed. 

'Why is no one dancing?' 

'Because the music sucks. It's the PG version too.'

She shrugged. 'I think that's fine. I don't think à school wants students singing along to things about… you know.' Fortunately, the gym was dark, or else he'd see her blush at the mere concept of sex. 

'Okay, yeah,' he laughed, 'you're right. Oh, look!' 

Nini whipped her head to dance floor, seeing a girl take a leap of fate and dance in the middle of the dance floor. Her frizzy curls were in space buns and she wore a cute boho dress and she just seemed to be living her life. The urge to join her was strong. 

Then: 'Wait, that's Ashlyn!', Nini exclaimed. She also did drama at the community centre, but just in a different class. She always seemed so… unapologetically herself. 

Kourtney joined their group. 'She's brave.' The two hummed in agreement. 

Suddenly, the song changed to Nini's Song and now there was no way she was staying on the sidelines. Another boy tacked to her wall was Shawn Mendes and "Something Big" was her jam! 

The last thing she heard was Ricky mutter an "Oh God", before dragging Kourtney with her on the dance floor, creating a small circle with Ashlyn as they jumped up and down. 

For the first time in a while, she felt like she was living; this exuberant, euphoric feeling bubbling in her chest and throat as slowly more and more people joined them. There was still very much a gender divide, but at least it wasn't awkward anymore. _Take that, Parker._

Eventually she found herself with Ricky and Big Red at the back of the floor, doing silly dance moves and dramatically mouthing along to the music. She was happy Ricky was having a good time. Things had been going south again at home and he hasn't been in the best mood because of it. 

'Do you guys want cake? It's lactose-free,' Big Red said, pointing at the snack table. 

'Sure,' Nini said, Ricky nodded too, to which the third member quickly disappeared in the crowd. But then a slow song came on, and the easy atmosphere was sucked out of the room instantaneously. A few couples shyly slung their arms around each other, a few kept dancing with their friends, but most speedwalked back to the wall. As Nini watched the couples dance, a part of her felt jealous. She knew she was just fourteen and had plenty of time to find a boyfriend and yet… 

'Do you wanna dance?' A familiar voice asked, cracking at the end. 

Nini locked eyes with Ricky, slightly frightened by the actual meaning of that question. 

' _What_?' 

Even in the dark she could see him turn red. 'You just… seem like you want to dance. It's not that big of deal.' He stressed the latter, averting her eyes. 

Nini smiled, moved that he would do such a thing for her. 'Thank you, Ricky.' It was then that she realised they kind of matched, her with her yellow dress and him with his yellow Vans.

(He hasn't worn his white Vans since the start of the year because of that stupid Vine) 

'Uh, so I'll just-', he stuttered, carefully placing his hands on her waist. Nini bit her lip. This was kind of awkward. 

She soldiered through however, placing her hands on his shoulders. They were almost eye to eye, him just a few inches taller, so she couldn't look anywhere else but at him. Pretty, she thought, staring into his brown eyes. 

‘This is kind of awkward, isn’t it,’ he whispered, making it only feel more intimate. Part of her wanted to run out the door all the way home to hide under her blanket and play her ukulele, another part (smaller, more hidden) wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

She chuckled. ‘Yeah.’

‘We can make it more our style?’, he suggested. Why did her heart pound at “our”? 

Nini ignored it. ‘What do you mean?’ Without replying, a grin stretched across his lips and quickly created more space between them. Just as she wanted to repeat her question, Ricky began to spin her around, fast and messy, whilst crooning along to the popular Ed Sheeran song. Nini bellowed of joy, getting more dizzy with every turn and laughing at his silliness. She was surprised though how good his voice was, very light and high, but nice. A fantasy flashed before her eyes were he was serenading her like in that 80s movie her moms forced her to watch and it was super romantic and right and-

She had to stop reading chicklits.

Snapping out of her lightheaded reverie, she tightened her hold on his head to stop the turning and accidentally fell into them. They’ve rolled around in the mud before when they were younger, but this was different. Too different, too much, too handsome. Nini left out a soft gasp as he grinned at her, his face close. 

Then, thankfully, the song changed to an upbeat pop song and Big Red reappeared. He hadn’t seen them, had he? 

‘Hey guys!’ He handed them the slices, and for the remainder of the night she only looked at Big Red and Kourtney, unable to meet Ricky’s gaze. 

Thank God, summer was approaching, because she needed some time to think this through. Nini did _not_ like Ricky, and that was final. 

(That summer, she went on vacation with her moms and lola to the Philippines, and right after, theatre camp. By the time she saw Ricky again, it was near the end of summer break and all those odd feelings had evaporated. It didn’t help he had grown at least four inches though. And somehow got more attractive.)

(But she didn’t like him like that. Plus, Tristan Kent from camp stole her first kiss, so she was much more mature now and ready for freshmen year where a lot of boys will be cute. Ricky would remain her best friend for life and that was final.) 

**freshmen year**

‘Ricky! This is a classic!’

He rolled over, grabbing the pillow to cover his face. ‘It’s so _boring_!’

‘It’s “Grease”!’ Nini scoffed at the sight of her best friend acting like a baby. She had _finally_ been able to convince him to watch one of her musical movies - instead of those Marvel movies - and he was being a jerk about it. 

‘So?’

‘So? It’s iconic!’, Nini spewed, grabbing her own pillow and hitting him with it.

‘Hey!’ His head popped up, appalled, with curls bouncing around. ‘You’re a maniac!’

Nini snorted. ‘You like it or else you wouldn’t be friends with me.’

‘Whatever,’ he muttered, rolling his eyes as Sandy revealed herself in the leather outfit. She couldn’t help but smile, enjoying his company despite his dumb comments. It was Homecoming night, but instead of wearing a sparkly red dress and dancing with a date, she was having a movie night with Ricky. It wasn’t planned. It kind of just… happened. None of her friends were excited about it, Kourtney even having no time for it because of her rigorous STEM classes and Big Red rather playing the newest video game that was this spiritual solo quest or something. (Sometimes she missed the days when they all huddled in Big Red’s basement together and played Monopoly for hours on end, but she had yet to admit it.) And so Ricky and her ended in her bedroom, surrounded by snacks and an obscene amount of blankets as they watched everything on her Netflix list. 

John Travolta began to sing the famous lyrics and Nini started bounding on her mattress in excitement. ‘This is my favourite song!’, she squealed, amping the volume.

‘Really? I couldn’t tell.’ The sarcasm was dripping from his tone, but Nini didn’t care. This song always made her intensely happy, and so she jumped up and started to sing along with her entire heart and soul. Dancing around her room, grabbing Ricky’s hands to join her, going into the hallway to fully have her moment - all in a unicorn onesie. She was living in the moment, having the time of her life, without the sparkles and awkward slow dances and bad music. Nini was herself.

‘The one I need, oh yes indeed!’, she pointed at Ricky for dramatics, making a silly face as he was guffawing, even becoming a little red (of _laughing_ , obviously). The song faded out, her falling back on her bed with a sigh.

The bed dipped beside her. ‘You _had_ to get that out of your system, didn’t you?’ 

‘Yep,’ she beamed at him and the redness stayed, ‘and now we can watch all the superhero movies you want and I won’t complain even though they’re literally all the same.’ 

Ricky grinned, patting her onesie-clad knee. ‘And _that’s_ why we work.’  
Their gazes stayed locked for a second longer than usual, and she felt something shift. Things have been shifting for a while now, like when they saw each other again at the end of summer and hugged and it felt _different_ , or how something stirred inside her when she saw the eyes of freshmen girls tracking his walk. Things were shifting. But she didn’t mind. 

She averted her gaze, choosing a new movie, while feeling his eyes on her for a beat longer. Yes, she didn’t mind one bit.

Three hours later it was past midnight and they were still awake, finishing their fourth movie of the night. Luckily her moms were away for the weekend for a date or else they’d be annoyed by the noise they’re making. 

‘Please?’, Nini pouted. 

‘I’m really not the best guitar player,’ Ricky said, holding onto her ukulele with an insecure wrinkle on his face. She puffed out a breath, placing her hands on the keyboard.

‘Stop lying, you’re great. You’re not just a skater, Ricky,’ she rolled her eyes at the latter. Ricky got a guitar from his mom when he was eight, took many lessons after, and was now at a point where he could accompany her in her piano playing. He loved music, was basically married to his earphones, so why wouldn’t he want to make music with her?

‘So I’ve been working on this song,’ she continued, ‘and it’s mostly piano but I wrote it as a duet and I want the ukulele to come in when the second voice starts and eventually the two instruments blend together.’

He pooched his lips. ‘That sounds, uh, very ambitious.’

She sighed. ‘Yeah, it’s not really an amazing song either, but…’ Nini took a long break from songwriting as her middle school self was self-conscious about everything, from how she looked to the way she talked, and it wasn’t like she was a self-confidence goddess now, but it was definitely _better_. She was finally in a place where she could write songs again and not cry about it. 

He rubbed his hands across his face. ‘Look, what if we do this tomorrow with a clear head? We _still_ haven’t played Cards Against Humanity though!’ 

A grin etched at her lips. ‘Promise?’ She held out her pinky finger.

He grabbed it with his. ‘Promise.’ 

Then, the laugh erupted, partly because she was exhausted and partly from the sugar high. ‘Thank God my parents aren’t home. They do _not_ approve of this game.’

(She didn’t remember when they went to sleep, but the birds definitely started chirping when they passed out on her bed. When they woke up, groggy and late, they went through everyone’s IG story and realised they hadn’t missed much. It just seemed like middle school but with older people.)

(They finally played Nini’s song together. It was messy and unfinished by the time Ricky had to leave, but it left her feeling more inspired than ever. Maybe… this could be her lifelong passion, especially since it doesn’t seem like her musical career is taking off.)

(Ricky and Nini pull many more all-nighters together, often joined with Kourt and Big Red.)

*

‘You should come to church next week, I’m singing the lead with the gospel choir and I was allowed to choose the song and…,’ Kourtney excitedly rambled on about the mass as the two boys approached. Her father’s church made it a thing to do Christmas themed songs for the entirety of December, in which Kourtney usually sang with the choir. But now, with a well-trained voice, she was given the opportunity to be the lead. Kourt was so confident, she was going to kill it!

‘I definitely will!’, Nini said, smiling at the boys. Ricky sat down next to her, as usual. Closer than usual. But then she eyed his platter and the smile vanished. 

‘Really, Ricky? How many cheeseburgers can you eat before you implode? Did you not see that Monty Python movie about the “after eight”?’

He rolled his eyes, making a point to eat it right in her face and smacking the words: ‘Sorry mom.’ Nini puffed, pushing his face away. Why wasn’t she actually disgusted though? She used to call out Big Red and Ricky’s pig-like behaviour in elementary and middle school, why not now? 

‘Please,’ Kourtney scoffed, ‘as if they’ve watched anything by Monty Python.’

Big Red raised an eyebrow. ‘You don’t know how much time I spent at my physiotherapist.’

‘ _Oh,_ wow, okay.’

‘Point is,’ Nini quipped, bringing it back to the topic at hand, ‘you’re going to die if you keep eating cheeseburgers.’

Ricky shrugged. ‘I skate it off.’

‘A quinoa salad won’t kill you.’

‘Since when are you into hipster food?’

‘Since Cecilia Patterson,’ Kourt added, earning a glare from Nini.

‘ _Who_?’

Nini sighed. ‘She’s just this really talented girl from drama and she’s vegan so-’

‘I’m not giving up a cheeseburger because you’re idolising a… a what? Senior?’

‘I’m just _saying_ that some variation will be good for you.’

‘Nini-’

‘Ricky-’

‘Okay!’ Kourtney raised her voice, ending the squabble. ‘You’re acting like an old, married couple! Just let each other eat whatever… but seriously, Ricky, you _will_ go into cardiac arrest.’

Ricky’s mouth fell shut, stunned by Kourt’s figurative slap in the face and ate his burger in silence. He even let Nini steal a fry, to which she smiled and prodded his cheek to lighten his mood as well. 

(She also ignored Big Red’s comment that he “shipped it”.)

Ricky swatted her hand away, a grin edging at his lip. There it was!

Lunch ended and the two of them made their way to English, arms glued together as the throngs of four years worth of students passed through at the same time. 

‘By the way, I think I can finally do a tre flip!’, Ricky said in her ear, excited.

Nini rose her eyebrows. ‘Really? I wanna see that.’ Last weekend they watched hours of skate content on the floor of Ricky’s living room - well, _he_ watched the videos, she did with a half eye as she was going over her lines for the next time. Opening night was this weekend! 

‘Let’s go to the skate park after school!’

She looked remorseful. ‘I have final rehearsals. You’re still coming to the show on Friday, right?’ 

‘Yeah, of course!’ He squinted his eyes at her. ‘Don’t think I’m gonna enjoy myself though.’

Nini huffed. ‘ _Right_ , you’re too cool for musicals.’ She was already happy he came to see her, despite her being in ensemble and only having one line. Cecilia played the lead and just seemed so confident… Nini didn’t think she’d ever reach that, or at least not in high school.

They found their classroom, sitting next to each other near the back. 

‘What about Sunday after the final show? Cast parties aren’t super fun as freshmen anyway.’

He paused. ‘You sure?’

Was she? ‘Yeah,’ she heard herself say. Maybe she should get better acquainted with her castmates, but hanging out with Ricky at the skate park and postmating donuts sounded so much better. Why was she blushing though? And her heart pounding in her throat? 

‘Cool,’ he said before focusing on the teacher starting the lesson; He didn’t notice right? Nini inwardly groaned: why was she making this a big deal? It was Ricky, and despite the numerous daydreams she has had about him in the past weeks, he was first and foremost her friend! A friend who she hung out with and didn’t date because they’re friends so his invitation definitely wasn’t a date. 

Jesus Christ, Nini, get it together. 

(She killed her one line on opening night and sang pretty well with the ensemble. Her moms gave her an unnecessary bouquet of flowers and Ricky gave her a hug. Kourtney realised she loved doing Nini’s stage makeup and planned to be in the fashion and make-up crew for next year’s show.)

(Her make-up looked way out of place that Sunday afternoon at the skate park but the guys didn’t make jokes about it, thankfully. Ricky can indeed do a tre flip, and it was in that moment that the thought: “I can’t believe I like a skater boy” crossed her mind. She munched her feelings away with donuts, which only made it worse when Ricky wiped the icing from her chin.)

(Their hug at her porch was longer than usual, neither wanting to let go.)

Something was shifting. 

*

ricky💕

**nini ru sick?**

**remember we have the bio test today**

**nini???**

**everythig okay???**

**fuck it im coming over**

Someone spraypainted “DYKES GO TO HELL” on their door. Her moms, frightened, left for work anyway and expected Nini to go on with her life as well. “We’ll fix it later”, they said. And maybe Nini was being a baby about it because it wasn’t directed at her but shit, some asshole was threatening her parents! So she cried and screamed and wrote angry verses for songs that would never be completed. 

She let out another angry sob as she tried to scrub the door clean. She couldn’t wait till seven PM and let her moms do it. Their entire neighbourhood would’ve seen it by then. Ugh! How dare they!? Who did they think they were to vandalise someone’s home? To hurt someone because they loved someone from the same gender? The world was so fucked up. 

‘What the fuck.’

Nini sprung up, ready to attack when she realised a baffled Ricky stood behind her, skateboard in hand. 

‘What are you doing here?’ 

‘I…,’ his eyes remained stuck on the graffiti, ‘I came to see if you were okay. You weren’t answering your phone.’

She hadn’t even thought of notifying her friends. ‘Oh. Right. Sorry.’

‘It’s okay,’ he rushed out. Then, he pointed at the sign. ‘That’s messed up.’

Him confirming her thoughts made her shoulders fall slack and her neck roll down. Another batch of tears smeared across her face, wracking her body once more. Soon, a pair of arms was around her, holding her tight. 

Nini clutched onto his T-shirt. ‘Why are people like this?’, she blubbered. 

‘They’re idiots,’ Ricky reasoned, gently caressing her back. It was odd being on the receiving end of comfort, when just a few weeks ago near the end of March she had been hugging him. ‘They’re hating because your moms are doing well. Hey,’ he pulled back, wiping the tears from her cheeks. He had an awkward expression on his face, not used to this, but she couldn’t be more grateful. ‘Don’t let this get to you.’

Nini nodded, still teary-eyed but feeling more relieved. They stayed in that position for a while, Nini holding his waist and Ricky tentatively going through each strand of hair. 

She chuckled. ‘You’re sweaty.’

‘Is that your way of saying thanks to your awesome best friend?’, he grinned. 

‘Yep,’ and kept her head on his chest. 

‘Are you still going to school?’

Nini shook her head, jabbing her thumb at the door. ‘I’m still trying to get it off.’

‘Want me to stay and help?’ Of course he would, but she knew he needed this grade for biology. 

‘No, go do the test, I can do this on my own.’ There must be a WikiHow article on how to get graffiti off doors, right? 

‘You sure?’

‘Yes,’ she laughed, pushing him towards the street. ‘Go!’ When she tried to get back to her task, he snatched her hand. It was warm and somehow it felt like their hands fit perfectly, like the perfect melody with the perfect lyrics. (This was not where her head was supposed to be! But why was it that a simple touch like this could make her so happy?)

‘It’s going to be okay, alright,’ he stressed once more before letting go. She instantly missed him, even with him on the sidewalk. 

_I really like you!_ she thought. ‘Good luck!’, she said instead.

Ricky saluted her goodbye, throwing his skateboard on the ground and speeding down the street. Nini sighed, she was so done crushing on her best friend. Sometimes she wondered when it even started. Was it a specific moment, like a birthday party? Or was it the moments inbetween, when they swapped lunches without saying a word or having an impromptu movie night? Was it a smile? A joke? 

Focus! First the door, then feelings. 

(Turned out, she can do both simultaneously.) 

*

‘And the winner is… Ricky Bowen!’

Nini sprinted down the stands, exhilarated for him to have won in his category of the regional skate competition. He was insane! 

‘You won!’, she squealed, basically jumping into his arms. He laughed, holding her up for moment before setting her down.

‘You’re adorable,’ he breathed. 

*

Nini’s head fell slack on his shoulder on the bus ride home from the school camping trip. He let her. When he fell asleep too, his head balanced on hers. 

(Big Red took a picture.)

*

‘What are you planning for your birthday?’, Ricky asked, slinging an arm around her shoulder. There was just a week left of school, summer and heat in full swing, yet she didn’t mind the touch.

Nini hadn’t really paid much thought to it, with all the exams they just went through. ‘I don’t know. I just wanna hang out with you and Kourtney and Big Red. Bribe my lola into making leche flan. Maybe we can go rock climbing at the recreation centre!’

He raised a brow, leading them outside. Her red dress was definitely a good choice for this weather. ‘You? Rock climbing?’

‘I wanna try something new!’, she exclaimed, escaping from his hold. 

‘Okay!’, he raised his hands in surrender. ‘Let’s do it.’

Nini smiled up at him. ‘Great.’

Summer break started at Nini was turning fifteen. It truly felt like she was becoming a teenager now, with being able to get driver’s lessons and staying out later. She had a good feeling about sophomore year. 

The day started with a large breakfast with her family, mostly consisting of Pinoy delicacies that she craved year round. She received a new phone from her parents, after using the second hand one since seventh grade, and a new backpack from her lola. 

Kourtney arrived first, holding a sparkly blue bag. ‘Finally fifteen! I was starting to feel old!’, she said, a February-baby. 

‘Funny,’ Nini deadpanned. 

Her friend huffed. ‘Such a good mood. Let’s go to your room before the boys get here!’ With the tone that laced her voice, Nini knew something was up. 

‘What’s up?’, she asked, sitting down on her bed and flattening her skirt. Even though she was switching into leggings when they went rock climbing, she still wanted to look cute for the time being.

‘Are you gonna tell Ricky you like him?’

Nini flushed red. She was still debating whether or not telling Kourt she liked Ricky was a good idea, then again, her friend had seen right through her all along. Every so often she pushed Nini to confess, but it was just so scary! Ricky was her lifelong friend and if she messed this up…

‘Girl, you know he likes you too!’, Kourt continued, folding her arms. Nini couldn’t help but notice her immaculate make-up and smiled. 

‘You should start a make-up Instagram.’

This caught her off guard, fortunately. ‘Really? I’ve considered it, but… hey! Don’t change the subject!’

‘Kourtney!’

‘Tell him!’

‘I’m not going to!’

‘If he rejects you, which he _won’t_ , he’d still be your friend!’

‘You don’t know that for sure though,’ Nini crossed her arms, muttering the words. Kourtney grabbed her hands. 

‘Nini, do it for yourself. This has been eating you alive, I know it!’

Kourtney was right. She was an independent woman who deserved to tell the guy she liked how she felt. She’d tell him in a private moment, maybe after rock climbing? She would wait it out and see. 

‘Okay.’

Kourtney perked up. ‘Okay?’

Nini nodded. ‘Let’s do it. Let’s potentially ruin my summer.’

They high-fived. ‘That’s the spirit!’

The boys arrived ten minutes later, Big Red’s mom having carpooled them. The hug between Ricky and her was a little tense, as she knew what was awaiting her. She hoped he didn’t notice, but he too seemed skittish. 

She got a songbook from Big Red with all the newest musical hits, a Cards Against Humanity theatre expansion pack from Kourtney and a pack of fairy string lights from Ricky, since he knew how badly she wanted to have it tacked behind her bed like on Pinterest. He also gave her a thick envelope, but told her to open it tonight when she was alone. She had an inkling about what it was, and understood that he didn’t want to come across as cheesy.

(She wanted to kiss him for the gift.)

They biked and skated to the recreation centre, spending hours inside climbing, challenging each other, pushing each other down and trying (and failing) the advanced trails. 

‘Definitely need more abs for that,’ Nini puffed as she rappelled. 

‘Hey guys!’, Kourtney called them, ‘Let’s take a picture to remember this day!’ She gave her phone to one of the instructors as the grouped together, Nini mushed in between Kourt and Ricky and feeling so overjoyed to be surrounded by people that truly cared for her that her smile must’ve been blinding. This felt right. Right now. Nini took a determined long breath and nodded at Kourtney. 

‘So, Big Red,’ Kourtney began, leading him away from the pairing, ‘what else do they show at your physiotherapist?’

‘Oh, uh, The Princess Bride, The Princess Diaries one and two, Princess Protection Program, The Princess and The Frog, …,’ they wandered off, voices melting with the other people. Before Ricky could follow them, she grabbed his wrist. 

_You’re fifteen, you can do this._

‘What’s up?’

For a fraction of a moment, she wanted to back out, stay in this safe lane of easy friendship that would survive time and space without a worry. But if she did that...she would always be wondering. Maybe even hoping to change the past and do tell him. Nini had to do it. Because really, every time she looked at him it felt like she was in a garden of bliss. 

Nini _really_ liked him. 

‘I like you.’

Ricky’s eyes widened in surprise, body frozen. Shit. That wasn’t a good sign, was it? 

‘You… you like me?’

She giggled nervously. ‘Kinda a lot.’

Just as she thought he wouldn’t say anything else and break her heart, a grin split across his face. 

‘Yes!’, he screamed, pulling her up and spinning her around in a soaring hug. Nini squealed, relief flooding her body. _Ricky liked her!_ Ricky liked her!

He put her down, the beam on his face almost too much for her to handle. His hand brushed a strand out of her face. 

‘So can I finally say I think you’re really beautiful?’

Nini bit her lip, still unsure whether she is dreaming or not. ‘You can.’ And then, because it could only go up from here, she stood on her tippy toes and softly placed her lips on his. Ricky’s gaze became fond, kissing her back just as tenderly before enveloping her in his embrace. 

‘Best birthday ever,’ Nini mumbled. 

(Because of the sudden change in life events, Ricky stayed a little longer than Kourtney and Big Red to be alone with Nini. She still couldn’t believe she had a boyfriend, one she could hold hands with and kiss and hug and share everything with. Now that she thought of it, Ricky was basically already all of that, just without the kissing. They opened the envelope together and she was right: pictures of them and with friends. ‘To hang on the lights,’ he said, a little abashed. ‘I love it,’ she replied, kissing his cheek because kissing him on the lips was overwhelming and perhaps not the best idea with her parents downstairs.)

(She did kiss him long and languid on the sidewalk, a warm and tingly feeling spreading in her chest. She knew she would never get enough of this.)

(It was the start of something new.) 

**Author's Note:**

> biko is a filipino dessert


End file.
